DID YOU KNOW? 31 million small businesses employ over 60 million people, almost half the total U.S. workforce. Here is a website to help small businesses - mostly restaurants - at the onset of the lockdown. It's a wonderful way for individuals to buy gift cards for restaurants in all 50 states. It's brilliant and simple. Here is Medium article describing how Nihal Mehta came up with the idea. DID YOU KNOW? COMPASS pioneering agent Jason Saft features boldly in this story in the WSJ about the importance of ART in staging. (You need to be a subscriber to see this) DID YOU KNOW? William Macarthur-Stanham, COMPASS Senior Product Manager /Data Product, shared that flooding is the leading cause of natural-disaster losses in the U.S, averaging $8B annually. Homeowners that live on floodplains have a 1 in 4 chance that their home will experience a major flooding event over the period of a 30-year mortgage. In 2019, a particularly high-incident year, almost 14 million people were impacted by floods and since 1996, 99% of US counties have experienced a flooding event. Soon COMPASS will have FEMA flood maps so you can check easily whether a property is in a flood zone or not. And.....if you live on the 20th floor of a condo, don't forget the neighbors above can flood you too with a burst pipe! DID YOU KNOW? The UK government has opened a path to citizenship for more than 300,000 Hong Kong residents. A large chunk of highly educated, enterprising immigrants to the UK could spur exceptional economic activity.... (FT) DID YOU KNOW? The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to an average of 3.15% during the week ending May 28, a decrease of nine basis points from the previous week, Freddie Mac, the lowest level since Freddie Mac began tracking this data starting in 1971. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.99%.The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped eight basis points to an average of 2.62%. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.13%, down four basis points from a week ago. (Marketwatch) The previous record low was set at the end of April, when the average rate on a 30-year home loan dropped to 3.23%. This is now the third time in 2020 when the mortgage market has recorded a new historical low for interest rates. DID YOU KNOW? By 2018, the New York metro area accounted for 13% of all of the USA’s arts, entertainment and recreation output, up from 9% in 2001, according to the Commerce Department. One out of every 12 museums in America was there, one out of every eight dance companies and one out of every 12 bars or restaurants. (WSJ) “Don’t bet against New York.” - Bill Rudin, WSJ. DID YOU KNOW? Between 1900 and 1930—a span that included the Spanish flu pandemic—New York's population doubled from 3.4 million to 6.9 million. DID YOU KNOW? A majority of American millionaires say they plan to spend less this summer than in years past, according to the Q2 CNBC Millionaire Survey, which polls 750 people with investable assets of $1 million or more. Real estate, new cars and vacations are the expenses they are most likely to put on hold, and many won’t complete those purchases for at least a year. A majority said their assets will be the same or higher at the end of the year, and nearly three quarters say their incomes will be the same or higher. REMEMBER: sentiments change as time passes. (CNBC) DID YOU KNOW? Big tech companies are hunting for deals at their fastest pace in years, racking up acquisitions and strategic investments despite increased regulatory scrutiny during the coronavirus-led market turmoil. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft have announced 19 deals this year, according to Refinitiv data from May 26, representing the fastest pace of acquisitions to this date since 2015. (FT) Call Ann today for All your Real Estate needs! 630-479-4393
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